Articles Posted in Brain Injury

New research about brain injuries have been published recently that show a great deal of promise for head injury patients in Homestead and other communities. One of the recent research studies that has been published in the journal Pediatrics examined concussions in young people between the ages of 8 and 23. The researchers concluded that patients with a concussion could improve recovery by avoiding taxing brain activities. According to the study, patients who kept their brains busier with cognitive activity took approximately 100 days to recover from a concussion while peers who took part in less cognitive activity took about 20 to 50 days to recover from similar injuries. Patients who experienced mild and moderate levels of cognitive activity also took 20 to 50 days to recover from their brain injuries, leading researchers to conclude that young athletes with concussions should give their brains a rest but do not have to completely avoid cognitive activities such as reading, video games, text messaging, and other activity.

A new research breakthrough from the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is also providing hope to traumatic brain injury patients who have sustained a serious brain injury as a result of a car accident in Homestead or another community. Recently, professor James D. Lechleiter was granted a patent for his discovery of a class of compounds that could help prevent and treat neuron damage in some brain injury patients.

Dr. Lechleiter has studied the class of compounds on cell models and animal models, although no human testing has yet been done. According to his research, two compounds, known as MRS2365 and 2-methylthio-ADP, help stimulate cells called astrocytes, which are the caretaker cells of the brain. These cells control swelling in the brain, so stimulating them could potentially help address the problem or edema, or growing pressure in the skull caused by swelling after a traumatic head injury. In mice, when astrocytes cells were stimulated using 2-methylthio-ADP and MRS2365, swelling of the brain was rapidly reduced and astrocytes cells and neurons lived longer. It is hoped that this discovery could eventually help to produce a new type of drug that could be used to treat brain injury patients.

While many studies such as these focus on traumatic brain injury – such as those that patients might suffer after an attack or a truck accident in Homestead – a study published in the journal Sleep examined non-traumatic damage to the brain. Specifically, researchers from Sweden looked at the injuries that could be caused to the brain when patients do not get enough sleep. The study’s authors examined 15 young men and found that even losing one night of sleep could harm the brain. Researchers looked at the proteins that can be found in people who have concussions and discovered that men who didn’t sleep at all during one night had 20% higher levels of these proteins than men who slept eight hours during the night. Patients with concussions have even higher levels of the proteins, but the researchers still concluded that while sleep loss is not as harmful to the brain as traumatic injury, even one night without sleep can do measurable short-term damage.

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Child injuries in Homestead and other communities often occur as a result of sports injuries. While sports can teach children discipline, teamwork, leadership, and other important skills and while sports are important for physical fitness, they can also pose dangers.

One of the most common dangers with childhood sports injuries in Homestead and across Florida involves head injuries. These types of injuries can be dangerous and even life-threatening. Since scientists are still only learning about the full dangers of traumatic brain injury, however, there are some questions about how dangerous even so-called minor head injuries are.

New studies have suggested that even concussions – long considered a less serious type of traumatic head injury – may be more serious than previously thought, especially for teenage and child patients. A study from Boston Children’s Hospital, for example, found that teenagers and children who have had a concussion before take longer to recover from a new head injury. The study also found that concussions in children are hard to miss with traditional testing; about 20% of the children in the study had neuroimaging tests which came back negative even though the children had a concussion.

In the past, it was thought that children could recover from a concussion in a week, but new tests show that it usually takes much longer. Any child who has symptoms such as blurred vision, dizziness, nausea, headache, vomiting, fatigue, memory loss, problems with concentration or speech, drowsiness or other problems associated with concussions should be checked by a doctor carefully and should be given both cognitive tests and physical tests. Children should also be told to stay away from sports and other higher-risk activities until they get a clear indication from a doctor that it is okay.

The Boston Children’s Hospital reveals some concerning news about childhood brain injuries. According to the researchers, about 8% of students who sustained a concussion were not instructed to stay away from sports, increasing their risk of re-injury.

If your child has sustained a head injury, even a so-called mild one, it is important to get a full evaluation from a physician. Some head injuries do not present any symptoms but can still be deadly. Even if your child feels better within a few hours or a week, it is important to get the all-clear before returning to regular sports activities. A secondary brain injury sustained before the first one has fully healed can be far more severe and recovery time will be much greater.

In addition to taking your child to the doctor, you may want to speak with a personal injury attorney in Homestead or your community. If your child’s injuries were caused by poor supervision or other types of negligence, you can pursue compensation for your child so that your child can get the best medical care possible.

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Cesar Borlongan and his team of researchers at the University of South Florida Center for Aging and Brain Repair have been working on research that could help brain injury patients in Homestead and across the country. The research has shown that stem cells used to repair brain injury after a trauma help create “biobridges” that link the injured part of the brain with the uninjured part of the brain where new cells are born. The preclinical study will likely lead to more research now that the FDA has approved a limited clinical trial involving the stem cell therapy.

Stem cell therapy has been offering hope for patients with brain injuries following car accidents and other incidents. In Homestead and across the country, patients home that stem cell therapy will offer new options for healing. Stem cells are blank (undifferentiated) cells that can help give rise to different cells with various functions. The stem cells used by the Florida researchers, for example, can be adapted to take on the function of neural cells.

In the past, scientists have believed that stem cells may work for brain injury patients because stem cells can help replace dying or dead cells in the brain. Some scientists have also suggested that stem cell therapy may work in traumatic brain injury cases because the stem cells repair injured tissue by expelling growth factors. The new research suggests a third possibility: stem cells may migrate and help build links between injured and uninjured parts of the brain.

Cesar Borlongan and his researchers reached their conclusions by looking at two groups of rats with traumatic brain injuries. One group was not given stem cells and one group was injected with SB632 cells (stem cells derived from bone marrow) directly into the part of the brain injured by trauma. About one and three months after the injury and treatment, the rats with the stem cell therapy had less brain tissue trauma and better neurological function and motor control than the control group. Even though the transplanted stem cells did not survive in great numbers, they seemed to be enough to make changes to the rats’ recovery from injury. Closer inspection showed that the rats with the stem cell therapy seemed to produce a link between the injured area of the brain and subventricular zone, or the area of the brain where hot neural stem cells are generated.

For brain injury patients who have suffered traumatic injuries due to a truck accident in Homestead – or any through any trauma – the brain cell research offers a glimmer of hope. However, researchers note that many more tests and trials are needed. While treatments and options for head injury patients are improving, many injured patients find the newest technologies prohibitively expensive, as well. Many patients turn to personal injury attorneys in Homestead or their communities in order to secure financial resources and compensation so that they can pay for medical treatment.

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A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan Medical School has discovered that people who suffer traumatic brain injury may be more at risk of stroke. According to Dr. James Burke, who headed the study, traumatic brain injuries may contribute to strokes as much as high blood pressure.

According to Dr. Burke, about 20% of strokes occur in younger adults under the age of 65. For these younger adults, the return to work and regular life may be a long and daunting process. Early treatment is important for those who suffer a head injury in Homestead and other communities as well as for those who suffer a stroke. For stroke victims, when a treatment called tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is injected intravenously within the first hours after a stroke, the blood clot destroyer can break up blood clots associated with some strokes. Specifically, tPA can help victims who have suffered ischemic stroke, which account for about 87% of all stroke cases. Ischemic strokes involve a blood clot which blocks part of the blood flow to the brain.

According to Dr. Burke, understanding the link between traumatic brain injury and stroke risk can help scientists understand why some younger adults are affected by strokes – which may help prevent or treat these strokes in the future. According to Dr. Burke, traumatic brain injury may activate atherosclerotic plaques, which may increase the risk of a stroke.

Dr. Burke and his researchers examined 700,000 emergency room patients who were discharged in California between 2005 and 2009 and who suffered a trauma but no brain injury. In addition, 400,000 emergency room patients who had sustained a brain injury were examined. The average age of all these patients was 50. According to Dr. Burke, about 28 months after the initial emergency room treatment, about 1.1 percent of the patients had suffered an ischemic stroke. Among those patients who suffered a trauma but did not sustain a head injury, only 0.9% suffered an ischemic stroke within 28 months after their initial injury. Since the overall risk of stroke for people in this age group is very small, the 1.1% of people who suffered a stroke after a head injury may be significant. Researchers concluded that accounting for obesity, high cholesterol, heart disease, and other stroke risk factors, those with traumatic brain injury were 30% more likely to suffer from a stroke when compared with patients who had trauma but did not sustain any injuries to the brain.

Both Dr. Burke and other researchers have noted that additional research and studies need to be done before determining the risk of strokes for head injury patients. In the meantime, head injury patients in Homestead and other communities may wish to discuss with their doctors the possible long-term effects of their head injuries. Since head injuries are often caused by car accidents in Homestead, sports injuries, and other accidents, patients may wish to take extra steps to avoid head injuries by wearing helmets and by practicing safe driving techniques.

If you have suffered a head injury in Homestead or any Florida community, you may wish to consult with a personal injury attorney in Homestead or your city as well. If your head injury does lead to complications or additional injury, seeking compensation for your injuries can help you pay for the best medical care as well as for income replacement and other costs.

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The latest research offers some new information and hope for patients suffering from head injuries in Miami and other communities. Dr. Michael L. Lipton of the Gruss Magnetic Resonance Research Center at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and his team of researchers have concluded that heading the ball repeatedly in soccer results in similar brain injuries and brain abnormalities as other accidents – such as car accidents in Miami and other communities – that lead of traumatic brain injury.
Dr. Lipton and his team studied 37 amateur soccer players and concluded that heading the ball repeatedly can cause degeneration of brain cells, much like other forms of trauma. The soccer players in the study consisted of 78% male players with a mean age of over 30 years old. The research subjects played soccer for an average of over 22 years and headed the ball between 32 and 5400 times.

Parents have already been warned by safety experts about the dangers of sports-related injuries to minors and children in Miami and other communities. Sports-related injuries among children include:

•Spinal cord injuries
•Head injuries
•Fractures
•Soft tissue injuries
Other injuries are common as well. Of course, adult athletes face some of the same injuries. However, research has shown that child athletes may be more at risk. Studies have shown that children are at a significant risk for re-injury if they are placed back in the game too soon. A child who sustains a sports-related head injury – from a pool accident in Miami, for example – may return to swimming or to other at-risk activities quickly. When children return to activities and sports too early, safety experts say, their risk for a secondary accident is much higher. In addition, children may be more vulnerable to some types of head injuries due to their age and smaller size. In some cases, these injuries may affect a child for life.

Dr. Lipton and his researchers have stated that more research needs to be done about sports and head injuries so that athletes and coaches can know when players need to be removed from the game in order to prevent injuries. In the meantime, many pediatricians admit that there are several things that parents can do to prevent serious childhood head injuries caused by sports:

•Make sure children are signed up for sports in supervised settings – ask plenty of questions about coaches and their training
•Insist that your child uses proper safety gear – including helmets, if the sport requires it – during each practice and game
•Get any possible head injuries checked out by a medical professional right away and do not permit the child to return to at-risk activities until a doctor gives the go-ahead

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Head injuries in Hollywood occur for a number of reasons. Slip and fall accidents, sports injuries, and car accidents in Hollywood and other communities are among the more common causes of brain injuries. Some brain injuries are obvious – such as when the skull is punctured or bleeding – but many traumatic brain injuries are not so obvious. A person may hit their head and show no symptoms but may still be suffering a serious injury.
Some traumatic head injuries have clearer symptoms, such as:

•Drowsiness
•Erratic or unusual behavior
•Stiffness in the neck area
•Headache
•Pupils of unequal sizes
•Loss of consciousness
•Vomiting and nausea
•Vision problems
•Paralysis of the legs or arms
If you or a loved one show any of these symptoms, it is important to call 911 right away and get emergency medical help. Even if you are not sure that a serious head injury has been sustained and a patient shows no symptoms, it is important to get medical help right away to ensure an evaluation. Some patients show no symptoms but still have a serious head injury that requires immediate medical treatment.

If someone has suffered a head injury through a car or truck accident in Hollywood or has suffered a brain injury through some other accident, it is important not to move the person if at all possible. Contact 911 and ask the dispatcher for further instructions. If the head wound involves an object sticking out the skull, do not remove the object. If the head injury was caused by a sports injury, bicycle accident or motorcycle accident in Hollywood or another community, do not remove the victim’s helmet. In general, if there is a serious head injury, it is best to call 911 and get advice before attempting to move the victim. Moving the person may make the injury worse.

While getting medical help is often the first step, aftercare is also important after a head injury. Follow any doctor’s instructions about treating a head injury and head back to the Emergency Room or clinic if the symptoms change or get worse. Monitor a head injury victim closely in the days following a head injury, in case new symptoms appear. Make sure the patient avoids any strenuous activity or any activity that can put them at risk of a secondary brain injury. Get follow-up care and ensure that the person gets the all-clear before returning to sports and other everyday activities.

In addition to getting medical help, you may want to consider consulting with a personal injury attorney in Hollywood or your community. If you or a loved one have been seriously injured due to a wrongful or negligent act, you may be able to file a legal claim to seek compensation for lost wages, medical costs, and other expenses.

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Head injuries in North Miami and across South Florida cause devastation for many families, cause loss of productivity at work, and increase medical costs across communities. Head injuries are in many cases entirely preventable. They are often caused by traffic and car accidents in North Miami and other communities, by improper use of helmets during sports, and by other preventable causes. If you want to prevent this type of injury from occurring to you, make sure that you:

1) Avoid drinking and driving. Drinking and driving accidents in North Miami and other communities continue to be a serious cause of injuries, including head injuries. Drinking and driving causes many serious injuries, including spinal cord injuries and head injuries. Simply by taking a taxi home or finding an alternative route home you can reduce your risk of serious accidents and injuries.

2) Wear a helmet when snowboarding, taking part in contact sports, bicycling, riding a motorcycle, or in-line skating. If you play contact sports or snowboard or in-line skate, a helmet can help prevent head injuries in the event that you fall down or otherwise have an accident during the activity. If you are in a bicycle accident in North Miami or anywhere in South Florida, wearing a helmet can dramatically reduce your risk of head injury. Although Florida does not require adults to wear helmets while on a motorcycle, many victims involved in motorcycle accidents in North Miami and other communities incur serious head injuries simply because they did not wear helmets. A helmet is one of the best ways to protect your head from serious injury any time that you take part in any risky activity.

3) Wear a seat belt and make sure that your children use age-appropriate safety restraints. If you are involved in a car or truck accident in North Miami or your community, wearing a seatbelt can make all the difference. Age-appropriate safety restraints for children and seatbelts for adults keep passengers in their seats during a collision. Without a seatbelt or safety restraint, passengers can collide against seats, the roof of the car, or the dashboard. In some cases they are thrown clear of the vehicle, where there had can easily come into contact with hard pavement or another vehicle. Wearing a seatbelt reduces your risk not only of head injuries but also spinal cord injuries and other serious injuries.

4) Reduce the risk of slip and fall accidents at home. Slip and fall accidents in North Miami and other Florida cities are a leading cause of head injuries. In your home, make sure to remove any obstacles that can pose a tripping hazard. Be sure to install no slip treads in the bathroom, kitchen, and anywhere where tiles or flooring can be slippery when wet. In the bathroom, consider installing grab bars or other safety devices, especially if someone in your family is elderly or has mobility issues.

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Each year, Florida residents sustain serious and even life-threatening head injuries in Homestead and across the state. These injuries are caused by a number of accidents, including car accidents, pool injuries, sports-related accidents, slip and fall accidents in Homestead, and other causes. Head injuries range from concussions to epidural hematoma and while some patients recover fully from their injuries others suffer fatal complications or find their lives forever changed by their injuries.

Why Head Injuries are So Easy to Miss

One problem with serious head injuries is that symptoms do not always occur right away. In some cases, it takes hours or even days for symptoms to manifest. Another problem is that many people assume that if they do not hit their head hard, they are not at risk. This is not the case. Even a minor injury to the head can result in a serious and life-threatening head injury. Another problem with serious head injuries is that many people do not notice symptoms or do not think that their symptoms are related to their head injury.

For all these reasons, head injuries can be hard to diagnose. It is therefore important to see a doctor if you have sustained any head injury – even if it seemed relatively minor and you do not yet have symptoms. If you have been in a truck, car or motorcycle accident in Homestead or have sustained a bump to the head in any other way, get it checked out at once by a medical professional.

Symptoms to Watch Out For

If you sustain any head injury – even a minor bump to the head – and experience any of these symptoms, seek emergency medical help immediately:

• Headaches – especially severe, sudden headaches
• Vision problems – such as seeing stars or blurry vision
• Loss of consciousness
• Convulsions or spasms
• Memory problems or memory loss
• Stiffness in the neck area or the back of the head
• Vomiting or nausea
• Confusion or disorientation
• Uncharacteristic or off behavior or impulses
• Lack of balance or difficulty walking
• Dizziness
• Weakness in the legs and arms
• Changes to the pupils, dilated pupils or uneven pupils
• Fatigue, sleepiness or drowsiness
• Ringing or other unusual sounds in the ears
• Difficulty speaking or slurred speech
• Lack of appetite
• Bleeding from the nose or ears
• Clear fluid coming from the nose or ears
Even if the symptoms seem relatively mild or minor, it is safer to get them checked out rather than risk serious complications.

Types of Head Injuries

Sports-related head injuries are extremely common across Florida and across the country. They are especially tragic because in many cases these injuries affect children and young people playing contact sports. Although there is more awareness about sports concussions, in many cases players do not notice or report mild symptoms of head injuries while playing. This can lead to a secondary head injury when players return to the sport.

Another common type of head injury in Homestead is epidural hematoma. This type of injury occurs when the head is bumped and a blood vessel is damaged, leading to a blood clot or bleeding between the brain and the skull. The injury places pressure on the brain and can result in fatalities unless it is treated right away. In many cases, patients experience few or no symptoms, even if the condition is life-threatening. In many tragic cases, patients wait too long to seek help because the symptoms are so mild.

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Each day, people who are involved in car accidents in Miami as well as other accidents sustain serious head injuries. For patients who have sustained a serious head injury in Miami or anywhere in South Florida, the results can be devastating. These types of injuries often affect a person’s everyday life and are often very complex and expensive to treat. The decisions you make immediately following your accident or injury can determine how quickly and how well you heal. The biggest mistakes that people make after sustaining a head injury include:

1) Not seeking medical help at once. Any head injury could result in life-threatening injuries. Each year, head injury patients in Miami and across Florida sustain serious or even fatal complications because they do not seek medical help in time. Only a medical professional can tell you whether you have sustained a serious head injury or not. Always err on the side of caution and seek medical help if you have sustained any type of head injury – even if you do not yet have symptoms and seem to be fine.

2) Not keeping close track of symptoms. Keeping close track of symptoms with a written record does two things. First, it gives you documentation to show your attorney in the event that you decide to pursue a legal claim. Secondly, it helps you to notice symptoms that you may dismiss but that could point to a serious condition. If you are having headaches or dizzy spells each day, you may not notice – unless you are keeping track. Sometimes, head injuries have very subtle symptoms that are hard to catch.

3) Not taking extra precautions against additional head injury. If you already have one head injury, additional head injuries can become life-threatening or can seriously complicate your condition. After sustaining a head injury, you will want to ensure that you wear helmets for any contact sports, bicycle riding, or motorcycle riding you do. You want to take every precaution you can against head injury to ensure that you do not worsen your condition.

4) Returning to regular activities too soon. If you have sustained a serious head injury, you will want to speak with your doctor before returning to regular activities such as bicycle riding, contact sports, and other physical exertions. If you sustain injuries in a bicycle accident in Miami or your community or if you are injured in a motorcycle accident in Miami or your community while you already have a head injury, the results could be life-threatening. Do not take risks with your health. Make sure that you speak with your doctor about which activities you can return to and follow the doctor’s timetable for recovery.

5) Not speaking with a personal injury attorney. If you have suffered a head injury in Miami or anywhere in South Florida, you’re probably aware that the medical costs associated with this type of injury are quite high. It is not unusual for someone with a serious head injury to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in replacement income and medical bills in the first few years of their injury. In addition to the medical scans necessary to treat such an injury, serious head injuries may require surgery, rehabilitation, and many other expensive treatments. If your injury was caused by someone’s negligence or recklessness, you may be able to seek compensation. Speaking with a personal injury attorney in Miami or your community can help you get answers and can help you safeguard your financial future.

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